The Puerto Rico 5G Zone fosters new 5G applications and opportunities, placing the Caribbean island firmly on the telecommunications map.
The Puerto Rico 5G Zone initiative is set to put Puerto Rico at the forefront of the telecommunications industry, securing the island’s future success.
The project is primed to enable companies, government entities and academia to test applications and build new use cases for 5G networks and is a collaboration between Celeres Capital, the Indiana 5G Zone, public and private sectors and academic institutions.
Established through a memorandum of understanding between Celeres Capital and the Indiana 5G Zone, early stakeholders include XQ Message, a Silicon Valley-based cyber and communications security platform.
The Puerto Rico 5G Zone will attract companies and government entities by offering a secure lab and test-bed environment to de-risk 5G investment. Indiana’s 5G experience provides Puerto Rico with a proven blueprint to follow in the development and operations of its program. Strategic 5G uses include advanced manufacturing, resilient energy, intelligent logistics, digital agriculture, national security and public safety.
Rear Admiral Peter Brown, President Trump’s Special Representative for Puerto Rico’s Disaster Recovery, said: “Improving the capability, reliability and resiliency of Puerto Rico’s communications infrastructure is critical to a number of economic sectors and the quality of life for the people of Puerto Rico.
“The Trump Administration is working hard to bring pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing back to Puerto Rico in larger scale and communication connectivity is vital to those industries and many others.
“Attracting new businesses and technologies will also be enhanced with the innovations of new 5G networks and possibilities. Two additional areas where quality of life can be significantly improved for the people of Puerto Rico include distance learning and telemedicine, which have had significant access challenges for remote and rural communities.
“The 5G Zone shows great promise to more equally distribute access to information networks for all of the people of Puerto Rico, and I am pleased to be able to support the project from my role at the White House.”
Randy Clark, Vice Chairman of the National Spectrum Consortium, said:“5G is the underpinning wireless platform that is going to usher in digital modernization and accelerate this nation’s economic development while at the same time increasing the operational efficiency of our government.”
Congresswoman Susan W. Brooks, Founder and Co-chair of the 5G caucus in the US House of Representatives, said: “I am proud to see Indiana partnering with Puerto Rico on this on-going project to make America a leader in 5G. This decision not only validates Indiana’s forward-looking approach in the race to 5G by founding the zone in 2019 but further strengthens the state’s position as national leader in this field.
“As founder and co-chair of the 5G caucus in the US House of Representatives, I know that the US must continue to innovate and lead in this space for Hoosiers (residents of Indiana), Americans and the world as a whole. I look forward to seeing what innovations will be announced as a result of this valuable partnership.”
Celeres Capital is partnering with the stakeholders to create opportunities for 5G in Puerto Rico and Latin America where advanced manufacturing, energy resiliency and IoT are economic development priorities.
The Puerto Rico 5G Zone will allow the island to better leverage its human capital and become a hub for tech in Latin America. According to the Puerto Rico Information Technology Cluster, the island graduates 10,000 scientists, engineers and IT professionals each year.
Kurt Pfluger, of Celeres Capital, noted that the Puerto Rico 5G Zone stands to benefit from the expertise of the Indiana 5G Zone team, the first 5G public private partnership led by a state. The partnership between Indiana and Puerto Rico underscores a shared commitment to making the US. and its territories a leader in 5G tech.
“Indiana has done great work in establishing best practices in different verticals deploying 5G services. We are excited to share those experiences with the Puerto Rico 5G Zone.”
The Puerto Rico 5G Lab will provide a secure network leveraging technology offered by XQ Message. This innovative company provides network security through quantum-safe based edge encryption, to secure communication and data in all network environments.
Brian Wane, CEO of XQ Message, said: “I am very excited that XQ has the opportunity to bring our expertise in modern quantum-safe encryption to the Puerto Rico 5G Zone initiative. We are looking forward to doing our part to bring secure connectivity for the people of Puerto Rico.”
Rodrick Miller, CEO of Invest Puerto Rico (InvestPR), the island’s official public-private partnership for economic development, said: “That an undertaking of this magnitude is taking place in Puerto Rico speaks volumes of the island’s capabilities to support businesses in a variety of sectors, including business, industry, academia, R&D and others.
“The Puerto Rico 5G Zone not only validates our forward-looking approach to economic development, it also showcases our commitment to leveraging the power of strategic partnerships to create opportunities that really push the envelope in terms of the real-world applications of cutting-edge tech.”
Founding members of the zone include Indiana 5G Zone, XQ Message, Wovenware and Palm.
